


Championed Normal

by sugarblossom



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Probably ooc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23963812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarblossom/pseuds/sugarblossom
Summary: Lance takes Ash to meet Raihan!
Relationships: Kibana | Raihan & Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Kibana | Raihan & Wataru | Lance, Satoshi | Ash Ketchum & Wataru | Lance
Comments: 11
Kudos: 262





	Championed Normal

“And over here, we have the Hammerlocke Stadium!” Lance said, gesturing downwards. Ash patted his Dragonite’s head, him and Lance landing in front of the Stadium. Ash and Pikachu glanced at each other before at Lance. “And before you ask, yes, it acts as the city gym.”

“Awesome!” Ash and Pikachu both exclaimed with stars in their eyes. 

Lance couldn’t help but smile. “It also acts as a museum for Galar’s history.” He patted his Dragonite’s snout before returning them.

“Oh, cool!” Ash chuckled when Dragonite hugged him and Pikachu. “Didn’t you say you once trained here? It’s also where your outfit is based on, right?”

Fidgeting with the clasps of his cape, Lance hummed in agreement. “I also know their gym leader.”

Like on cue, Raihan stepped out of the front doors, staring between the two. 

“Whoa, really? Can we meet them?” Pikachu’s ears twitched up and down.

Chuckling when Ash cooed at Dragonite, Lance nodded. “That’s what we’re here for!” 

Ash nodded back, returning his Dragonite and following Lance.

Raihan stared down at Ash and Pikachu.

Lance sported a small smile. “Hello, Raihan. Long time no see.” He placed a hand on Ash’s back, nudging him forward. “This is Ash Ketchum.”

“Hey there, Raihan!” Ash exclaimed with a wave. “Nice to meet you!” Pikachu chirped, propping himself on Ash’s head.

Raihan plastered a grin on his face, nodding. “Greetings, Champion Lance. Nice to meet you too, Ash.” Ash immediately glanced at Lance, furrowing his eyebrows. 

Raihan didn’t acknowledge it. He turned around, walking back into the stadium. Lance quietly sighed, shifting his hand to pat Ash’s shoulder. Pikachu softly cooed, patting Ash’s head.

“That’s what we’re here for,” Lance mumbled. “I would say he isn’t usually like this, but what do I know? Come on.” Ash gave Lance a knowing glance as they ambled into the stadium.

Ash and Pikachu gaped at the inside, twirling to see every section. “This place is amazing!” 

Lance chuckled, placing his hands on Ash’s shoulder. “Ok ok, that’s enough.” Ash laughed, bobbing Pikachu up and down before chasing after Raihan. 

He stiffened when he saw Raihan’s blank face. “Raihan?”

Raihan grinned as he stopped walking, towering over Ash. “Ash, is it?” Pikachu narrowed his eyes, but Ash simply nodded. “Why don’t you go back to where you came from and leave the adults be?” Raihan casually asked, his voice pierced with a bitter undertone. Pikachu’s fur bristled.

Ash tilted his head. “I’m an adult too.”

Raihan froze. He met Lance’s wary grin before rolling his eyes. “ _ Kanto _ ,” he hissed under his breath. Ash reached up, placing a hand on Pikachu’s head, face blank.

Before Ash could say anything, Lance flatly said, “Is there a problem with Ash being an adult?”

Forcing himself to relax, Raihan shook his head. “No, sir.”

The two dragon type trainers stared at each other. 

“Whoa, the stadium’s huge!” Ash yelled. Pikachu glared at Raihan but also enthusiastically squeaked at Ash.

Raihan watched Lance fondly roll his eyes, eyes trailing Ash as he ran down the hall. “Don’t get lost!” Lance joked. Raihan tsked, glancing off.

“Why are you here,  _ Champion _ ?”

“Just wanted to introduce you-”

“I don’t believe that.” Raihan’s fang gleamed under the lights.

Lance crossed his arms. “I wanted to check on you.”

“That’s even worse of an excuse.” Raihan laughed, jokingly elbowing Lance’s side. “You’re not that sort of person! Stop pretending to-”

“I can’t believe you’ve changed this much either.” Raihan blinked. Lance glanced around, and seeing no one in sight, let his frown show. “I don’t know what happened-”

“Nothing!”

“...But you don’t get to be a jerk because of it.” 

Raihan grumbled, “I’m not.”

Lance raised an eyebrow, relaxing when Ash’s cheer echoed through the halls. “You don’t get to decide that, you get to change that. And I hope you trust me enough-”

“Lance, the stadium is so awesome, you could do so much training-” Ash screeched to a stop besides Lance, Pikachu now back on his shoulder. “Oh, sorry, did I interrupt you guys?” 

Taking Ash’s cap and twirling it around his finger, Lance shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, Ash.” Ash reached for his cap, with Lance jokingly lifting it out of his grasp. “Hey, how about a tour around the stadium?” They both glanced over at Raihan. “Raihan? What do you say?”

“...You’re not my champion.” Raihan glanced off. “But of course.” Ash tilted his head, patting Pikachu’s tail.

“That wasn’t…” Lance trailed off, falling silent for a second. “Alright. I’ll leave you two to it.”

“What.” 

Lance tossed Ash’s cap back to him. Pikachu caught it first, lopsidedly placing it on Ash’s head.

They watched Lance head into the stadium.

Ash adjusted his cap, exchanging a glance with Pikachu. “Raihan, you don’t have to-”

“Meh.” Raihan shrugged, slouching. Ash and Pikachu sweatdropped. 

They silently walked down the empty halls. 

“...Champion Lance really enjoys your company,” Raihan suddenly said. Ash tilted his head when he chuckled. “Why though? Why take  _ you _ under his wing?” Pikachu’s ears perked up, chittering in response.

“I don’t know!” Ash exclaimed. Pikachu facepalmed. “But maybe if we got to know each other more, you will!” 

If Ash’s tone wasn’t so genuine, Raihan would honestly have thought he was being passive-aggressive. 

Raihan trailed a hand over the walls, casually asking, “So where’d you meet Champion Lance?”

“Lake of Rage! He was so cool when capturing his red Gyarados!” Pikachu put his paws up, chirping in excitement.

Stiffening, Raihan peeked back at Ash and Pikachu. “You don’t have to worship him, he’s not around.”

“...It’s called being honest.” Raihan fell silent. “What? Do you put on a facade around Lance?”

“More like everyone. I act how they want me to.”

Ash froze. Pikachu huddled closer to Ash, draping his tail over Ash’s other shoulder. “Oh. And you’re sure you aren’t just assuming what Lance-”

Raihan barked out a laugh. “You wouldn’t understand, would you?”

“...Alright, so when do you act like yourself?” Raihan only shrugged. Ash creased his eyebrows.

They walked into a new room.

After a moment of silence, Raihan gestured over the room. “This is where trainers do my gym mission.” Ash scanned the walls, scratching Pikachu’s cheeks with a curious hum. “Was all of this satisfactory?”

“Of course! I don’t expect you to trust me entirely, so I appreciate this!”

Raihan paused. He glanced over Ash’s head at the lifts down. 

He led them back in front of the stadium doors. The sound of Lance training his pokemon echoed through the halls. Ash and Pikachu grinned, getting ready to run.

Raihan stopped. Ash tilted his head. “What’s wrong?”

Blinking, Raihan casually leaned against the wall. “Can we talk about Champion Lance for a few minutes? Uh, nothing against you-” Pikachu’s ears flicked, hissing.

“No, I get it.” Ash rocked on his heels, calming Pikachu with a head stroke. “I’m not as interesting as Lance, that’s for sure.” Pikachu hid a snicker. Ash shrugged, stepping next to Raihan. “You know, I felt really awkward being Lance’s rival at first, even more so being Lance’s friend.” Ash pouted, murmuring, “Or was it the other way around? Eh, doesn’t matter.” Pikachu’s fuzzy fur brushed against Ash’s cheek.

Raihan froze. “‘Rival’?”

“Yeah! At the start, it felt like I was never gonna come close to catching up-”

“And friend?”

Ash side-eyed him. “Mhm! I guess it was awkward because when we met, I was kind of a nobody.” Pikachu chirped, and Ash rolled his eyes. “At that point, I was just a trainer who hadn’t won a proper league. Yet we became really good friends!”

“...How?” They stared at each other. “I mean, you said it yourself. It’s awkward being friends with a champion. And yet…”

Ash grinned. “Champions are humans too! And people deserve kindness!” Pikachu chirped in agreement, pointing to his trainer. Raihan stared at Ash as he murmured, “You know, despite everything, I still don’t understand how they live such lonely lives.” Pikachu’s ears wilted. 

“What? I might… no longer be as close to Champion Lance as I thought, but Champion Leon is definitely not lonely! He’s got Hop, he’s got his fans, he’s even got all the Galar gym leaders, including me-”

“He’s not alone. But is he lonely? Have you asked?” Ash tilted his head, flicking the edge of his cap before tickling Pikachu’s ears. “Or are all of you too intimidated to actually get to know him more than rivals and colleagues?” Ash grinned. “Too intimidated to check in with him first?”

Raihan hissed, “No, Champion Leon and I were childhood friends!”

“Are you still friends?” Ash glanced into the stadium, watching Lance command his Dragonite. “I wonder if they’re both as you remembered? People can change, after all. For better or for worse.” Raihan gulped, glancing off. After a moment of silence, Ash shrugged with a grin. “But what do I know?” Pikachu rolled his eyes, perching his front paws on Ash’s other shoulder.

Raihan shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets, taking his phone out and whispering to himself, “I wonder if Champ- if Leon is also dealing with Rose?”

Ash grinned, lightly punching Raihan’s arm. “Well, I hope everything works out for you all!”

“You’re... actually a really interesting person.” Raihan smiled. “Thank you.”

“What did I do?” Raihan stifled a laugh, and Ash grinned at an exasperated Pikachu. “Well, I’m gonna meet up with Lance. See ya!”

Ash silently raced forward. 

Raihan fondly shook his head, peeking into the stadium.

Lance was rolling his eyes, stabilizing himself from Ash’s tackle hug. Raihan watched Pikachu climb onto Lance’s Dragonite before leaping onto Lance’s head, eliciting an annoyed groan from the champ- from Lance.

Raihan sauntered next to them.

Lance grinned at him. “So? How was showing a fellow champion around?”

“...What.”

Lance snickered, side hugging Ash with a proud gleam in his eyes. “Oh, didn’t you know? Ash here is the Orange and Alola Champion!” Pikachu stuck his tongue out at Raihan. “He’s more than just that, but you get it.”

Ash sweatdropped. “Lance, he probably doesn’t.” Lance only shrugged, smirking.

Raihan stared between Ash and Lance. “Ash, you’re a  _ champion _ ? But I got along so well-” Ash raised an eyebrow. Raihan fell silent. 

Ash glanced up at Lance before at Pikachu. “Hey Pikachu, wanna go?” Pikachu gave him a thumbs up, hopping back on Ash’s shoulder. “I’ll leave you two to it!” Ash said with a wave, running off.

“...Why do I get the feeling he’s more similar to you than I realize?”

Playing with the collars of his cape, Lance smirked. “Hm, possibly.”

Raihan rolled his eyes. “And I can’t tell if  _ you  _ stayed the same or not.”

Lance’s face turned serious in a split second. “Either way, I hope you realize that even though we’re rivals, we’re not enemies.” He held out his hand to Raihan.

Watching Ash and Pikachu playing with Lance’s Dragonite, Raihan smiled. “One thing’s certain.” Lance tilted his head this time. “You’ve gotten soft,” he teased.

“You  _ sure _ ?” Lance teased back. He laughed when Raihan finally shook his hand and head. “Don’t worry, we’re not dragon type users for nothing.” They watched Ash ride Lance’s Dragonite through the air while Pikachu rode Ash’s. “Well, this is me, take it or leave it.” Lance lightly punched Raihan’s arm with a grin. “And I hope you’ll be the same.”

**Author's Note:**

> How has everyone been doing? I hope you all have been staying safe and healthy! <3


End file.
